I buy second hand books from many places in Dubai, one of them being www.bookhero.ae. Was there yesterday and got talking to the owner about books and writing when the conversation moved to the Panchatantra. Like most others, she thought of the Panchatantra as a collection of children’s tales, and so I just had to tell …
The issue is not that you are not capable of doing it…the issue is that I know you are capable but you don’t. A phrase (or a close derivative) that I have found myself repeating often – to karate students who I taught, to employees, even to family. The starting point for most people is …
Around a couple of years back, I read this intriguing book called ‘The Fourth Turning’ by Neil Howe and William Strauss. This was written in 1996, yet is very relevant not just today, but I guess throughout time. On time, the authors write about three concepts of time. “Over the millennia, man has developed three ways …
Conflicts starting across the world… People against each other – choosing sides… I am right and he is wrong..this is mine and that is not his… My country, my house, my family…rest be damned… Let’s watch this unfold on social media… Bombs falling, people slaughtered… All from the comfort of our couch… And don’t forget …
All religions advocate some kind of fasting on a regular basis. The Vedāntā too advocates mitāharā – mitā means moderate and āharā means food. It is one of the yamās of Yoga. Eat on time, when you are hungry, and the right kind of food. Ayurvedā also advocates regular fasting. लंघनं परम् औषधं Langhanam param aushadham – or fasting is the best …
It’s the IPL once again. Just one game that dominates our imagination. All other games put together cannot match up to even 10% of our collective attention. Take the Olympics for instance. We clamour for more than just 1 or 2 medals, and cheering every match in the hope that we land that elusive gold …
So, I was reading about iron ore mining in Australia, and I came across a passage that took me on a tangent. This part of the book addresses the history of mining in that part of the world and the blatant disregard that mining companies had for the lands held sacred by the original inhabitants, …
Why can’t China make a ballpoint pen? There is what’s regarded in China as a “classic” question of manufacturing. The manufacturing powerhouse of the world finds it difficult to make this, despite making 80% of the world’s pens. As it turns out, the ballpoint of the ballpoint pen—a tiny metal ball bearing that “mimics the …
I am a lead pencil—the ordinary wooden pencil familiar to all boys and girls and adults who can read and write. Writing is both my vocation and my avocation; that’s all I do. You may wonder why I should write a genealogy. Well, to begin with, my story is interesting. And, next, I am a …
What role does choice play in our lives? I read a book somewhere that spoke about parallel realities. Every time we are faced with a choice, we make one and our lives go forward from that point on. But there is a possibility that the other choice is also made, and reality splits there so …
